The Hum by D.W. Brown Page B

else around me, and my heart beat out of my chest. When I took her hand and led her to my car, I momentarily forgot where we were heading. She even had to tell me the name of the restaurant where I’d made reservations for dinner.”
    Mr. Black took another short pause and then said, “That night, the movie Independence Day with Will Smith was playing, but I was too mesmerized by Jeannie’s laughter and everything about her to see much of the show. After we had dinner, I gave her a small peck on the check and asked to see her again the following weekend. It was the start of my most incredible year of college ever. We clicked in every way: I liked to play games, she liked to play games, I enjoyed running outside in the early morning hours, she liked to run in the park, I liked to watch movies and so did she.”
    Russell watched as tears began flowing from Mr. Black’s dark eyes. The regret of what he’d done finally seeming to hit home.
    “We spent the next year and a half together at Saginaw Valley State University in the fog of love. I’m still not sure how I managed to pass my classes, but at the end of my senior year, I had a bachelor’s degree in business management, and Jeannie had one in psychology.”
    “I thought you said you were in sales.” Russell said, recalling Kevin’s story about murdering the boss’s son because he got all the good leads.
    “Just because I have a degree in business management, doesn’t mean I was able to keep a steady job in the field. Unfortunately, the majority of the country invested in the same four year program as I did.”
    “Bummer. You were saying.” Russell urged.
    “My parents passed on about a year before I met Jeannie and I inherited the farm, the equipment, and about $25,000 from their checking account. My dad did an excellent job of managing the place. He had Everything paid off, and managed to save quite a bit on the side as well. I took out five grand of that money, and asked Jeannie to marry me.”
    “Sounds like your dad was a good man,” Russell interrupted.
    “I hated the man! He worked us to death as kids, and he blamed Wayne’s early demise on me. Even though the coroner’s report stated heart attack as the cause of death, he seemed to know it was me. He always loved Wayne more than me. Wayne was the stronger one, the harder worker, an all around natural when it came to learning new things. I was just average, and average didn’t cut it with my old man.”
    “Sorry to interrupt. You were saying that you asked Jeannie to marry you right after graduating college?” Russell said, hoping to keep Mr. Black on track with his current confession.
    “Oh yes. Jeannie lit up like the footage I saw on the television of the bombing in Baghdad, Iraq. She immediately said “ yes ”, and went on a three month long wedding planning spree. The crazy part was that I was all in on this thing. I did whatever she wanted and made sure she had everything she needed.”
    “When fall came—the same time of the year that we’d met the year prior—our friends and mainly her family packed out Jeannie’s small church. She looked stunning in her wedding gown, and I found myself thinking I was the luckiest man alive. I even thanked God for bringing us together. This was a major deal in itself, because after such a rough upbringing, the man upstairs and I weren’t exactly on talking terms.”
    After pausing to reflect, Kevin said, “You know, for the longest time I really didn’t even think God existed, but after what I’ve seen in that tunnel out there, it’s obvious that good and evil are among us here on earth.”
    “So, you left off at the wedding,” said Russell, not wanting Kevin to get off track. He’d seen where the whole religious debate could lead, and he didn’t have the time or the patience to take that drive.
    “When I lifted that veil and kissed those incredible lips, I thought I’d explode. I guess I lingered a little longer than normal, because I